File:Andrias_japonicus_pair.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
OverviewAI-generated
Cryptobranchidae is a family of amphibians within the order Caudata, class Amphibia, and phylum Chordata. The taxon was described by Fitzinger in 1826 and is governed by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Its parent taxa include Cryptobranchoidea and Caudata. The family is accepted in taxonomic databases and dates back to approximately 168 million years ago.
Members of this family live in freshwater habitats. Adults retain gill slits throughout their lives and possess skin folds on their sides to increase surface area for underwater respiration. They have four toes on their front limbs and five toes on their hind limbs. Records from institutions such as UMMP, MSUM, and UCMP indicate occurrences in the United States and Japan.
Synthesized by Vinony from 31 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, Gbif Occ, Encyclopedia of Life, WoRMS, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Species
FAMILY
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassAmphibia
- OrderCaudata
- FamilyCryptobranchidae
隱鰓鯢科（Cryptobranchidae），為隱鰓鯢亞目下之一科。终生生活在水中，成体保有鳃裂，体侧有皮肤褶皱以增加皮肤面积用於在水中呼吸，前肢4趾後肢5趾。
via GBIF
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 4
- Family
- Cryptobranchidae
- Collections
- UMMP, MSUM, UCMP
- Recorded in
- United States, Japan
~7 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Cryptobranchidae (commonly known as giant salamanders) are a family of large salamanders that are fully aquatic. The family includes some of the largest living amphibians. They are native to China, Japan, and the eastern United States. Giant salamanders constitute one of two living families—the other being the Asiatic salamanders belonging to the family Hynobiidae—within the Cryptobranchoidea, one of two main divisions of living salamanders.
The largest species are in the genus Andrias, native to east Asia. The South China giant salamander (Andrias sligoi) can reach a length of 1.8 m (5.9 ft). The Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus) reaches up to 1.44 m (4.7 ft) in length, feeds at night on fish and crustaceans, and has been known to live for more than 50 years in captivity.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Cryptobranchidae” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.